It Was Written...

Is this season just a prelude? Is this, the 2016 NBA season, the 71st installment of such, which has now spilled into 2017 calendar year, a prologue of a story which many believe is already written? The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, the former the defending champions and the latter the recently reloaded, are the two teams most expect to be the finalists by the time The Finals roll around in June. And with good reason. The two have split the title of NBA Champion between themselves over the last two seasons and have shown no signs of letting up. Most believe the Warriors to currently hold the edge over the Cavaliers as they added a former MVP by the name of Kevin Durant to a team which boasts a two-time MVP of its own in Stephen Curry. The Cavaliers themselves are a well-oiled machine, pulled by the locomotive that is LeBron James, and need to make no argument for why they will be there in the end as well. And although for most, that this season is already a forgone conclusion, barring major injury or act of God, there does not seem to be a palpable pulse beating in either the direction of apathy or intrigue. And it is not as if there should be a definitive feeling either way.

The 1990s saw the Chicago Bulls win six championships during the decade. The Bulls won back-to-back-to-back titles twice, as those reigns were broken up by some mere mortal's quest to be decent at baseball, ultimately winning their six championships over the span of eight years. The notion that the Bulls would have won eight in a row, while adding Hakeem Olujawon, to the list of Hall of Famers such as Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton to succumb at the hands of the aforementioned mortal, stands as plausible. Imagine if the 90s did provide eight consecutive titles crafted by Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. It would be akin to the Boston Celtics era of dominance in the 1960s provided by the efforts of the incomparable Bill Russell and Red Auerbach. These two dynasties during the height of their powers gave NBA fans at the time the same result over and over, whether they wanted it or not. Whether good or bad for the league, it is what it was. The same way in which it continues to be it is what it is today.

To say that the state of the NBA as it pertains to winning a championship or two is monopoly-driven endeavor, would be to acknowledge the history of how championships are one and spread out amongst not the entire league on a whole, but to a special select few franchises. Namely those that have been able to field teams which combine great teamwork and coaching with superstar talent and the killer-instincts that accompany said talent. The teams who fall under this distinction are those whom we name readily when it comes time to talk about just who has hoisted a championship banner in their respective arena's rafters. The aforementioned Celtics of the 60s fit the bill. The Los Angeles Lakers and (once again) Celtics teams of the 80s do as well. The previously referred to Bulls of the 90s are revered to the point of worship. The Lakers of the first three years of the new millennium take a backseat to no one. And the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat teams of recent memory give of fresh reminders of just how this thing works. In short, everyone gets invited to the party, but not everyone gets to dance.

As this season reaches the All-Star break, the fact that this campaign is more than halfway complete is a notion that is not lost amongst both players and fans alike, although both entities may process the thought in entirely different manners. For the player, to know where his team currently stands, and to understand what lies ahead within reason and within expectation; the opportunity to substantiate or create anew the narrative that this season is becoming, his is the perspective of faith and hope. The fans do the same as well, although their approach is one of hope and prayer. For some a hope that we get the championship round we all expect, and for others a prayer that this is not the beginning of a back-to-back-to-back-to back (well you get the idea) and forth between the Cavaliers and Warriors that completely excludes their own teams. You know, the ones that never get invited to dance that last dance.

The season is a prelude. Although it differs greatly from a book already printed for publishing, words, letters, and characters deeply embedded and unchangeable, an NBA season is quite similar in its structure and presentation. The difference between the two is subtle, yet sublime. The difference? The ink has already dried on the pages of the literary work of art. The ink is still drying on the pages of the annals of NBA history. Already written. Awaiting the drying breaths of air to be drawn and blown from the lips of players on teams that were already written.

Warriors! Come Out to Play!

If you are a Golden State Warriors fan, tonight you sit upon the precipice of greatness; all with baited breath, mind you. This season, for all intents and purposes, has been a referendum on the almost incomparable greatness of the Warriors; namely their roster, their chemistry, their spirit, and most importantly their philosophy. A season  in which they have raced themselves at a torrid pace, some would say in an effort to dispel innuendo, speculation, and conjecture regarding the legitimacy of the championship they so now are fervently defending, has led to this penultimate moment: the chance to surpass the '95-'96 Chicago Bulls all-time single regular season total for victories of 72, with the 73 of their own.

Also at stake for the Warriors fan is their opportunity to defend two titles. One being Steph Curry's personal mantelpiece hardware, the MVP award for a season which made him look as if he wasn't even giving it his all last season (another way of saying a player of his caliber being able to find yet another ceiling to reach for). And the second but most important of all, the one which really matters and will make all the dynamic things that Warriors have done, singularly and collectively, pale in comparison, would be to win the Larry O'Brien trophy. Again.

Will all three baskets get filled for the Warriors fan? Without a doubt the MVP will be handed to Curry, quite possibly unanimously. So that's a given. And that same fan would most certainly place their money on the Warriors in tonight's potentially record-breaking contest vs the Memphis Grizzlies, a team who by the way to date had employed 28 different starting lineups (the most in the NBA this season) because well, they have employed 28 different starting lineups.

Once again, the kicker, for said fan, would be the ability if all three things come to fruition to enjoy the type of season that the '95-'96 Bulls fan enjoyed. Your best player (in this case Michael Jordan) winning MVP, your team setting the all-time record for victories  (72), and your team winning it all to punctuate the whole deal.

If this is to be the outcome and the Warriors cement their legacy it goes without mentioning that their fans will be euphoric to no end. It is now we will see if it is all meant to be. And it starts tonight.

It Was All Good Just A Year Ago...

When Glen Grunwald was unceremoniously relieved of his duties as general manager of the New York Knicks prior to the recently concluded 2013-2014 NBA season it signaled an end to the brief period of composure and consistency, hardly synonymous with Madison Square Garden, which had begun to permeate throughout the organization up until that point. The move came and went, largely unannounced by NBA insiders and hardly recognized by casual observers, but it would serve as a harbinger for the Knicks disastrous 2013-2014 campaign, signaling to the aforementioned observers of the Knicks, and the NBA at large, that all was still not well at Madison Square Garden. James Dolan was still in charge.

Fast-forward to the present. Derek Fisher, the former Los Angeles Laker (amongst other teams he has played for), has been recently installed as the head coach of the Knicks. The third hire of such a kind in the last three years, he has been on the job for all of less than two weeks. It has taken him less time than that to assess the situation at hand as it pertains to the current roster he has been given, as well as Carmelo Anthony's impending free agency. [As of this writing reports are that Anthony has indeed been true to his word of opting of his current Knicks deal (as is his right) a few hours early of the intended June 24th date he had given the media and Knicks front office.]

Fisher believes his team can win, and now. And why not? This is a Knicks team that won 54 games just a season before this season's 37 win debacle. Plagued by injuries to key players, player suspensions, and general dissent and apathy amongst the troops, the Knicks did their best to underwhelm the same city they had overwhelmed last year with thoughts of a title pursuit. So which team really is the Knicks team? That's hard to say depending on who you ask. If you ask Fisher he will say yes. 

Contingent and dependent upon the place where Anthony will sign in free-agency, a lion's share of what Fisher believes is tied into the fate that is the destination of that signature. A player of Anthony's stature is considered to be the building block of any organization. A team with championship aspirations would be fortunate to have him on their roster. Fisher knows this. He also knows that Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Andrea Bargnani, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Raymond Felton (yes even Felton) are all better than the record they produced last year. Yes it true that you are what you record says you are. The great Bill Parcells was unwavering on that issue. The Knicks are the team that produced 37 wins last year. At the same time they know that they are also the team that won way more than that the year before; the year in which there was as much stability and veteran leadership as there was talent and athleticism. That year there was a veteran point guard who helped to spearhead a great start to that 54 win season. A veteran point guard turned coach who was able to turn around a moribund New York City-area basketball team the same way that the Knicks hope their veteran point guard coach can do for their New York City-area basketball team. 

Jason Kidd was that player and that coach and now Derek Fisher finds himself in the same position. Fisher feels that he will have the same impact on this roster that Kidd had on the Knicks a season ago and with the Nets this season, and who's to doubt him? He knows what impact good communication, a respect for authority, and a willingness to buy into the same ideals as a team will bring. He has seen it. He has been it. Regardless of whether or not Carmelo Anthony re-signs with the Knicks Fisher knows and believes that this is a roster built to win when it is clicking on all cylinders. Now that he has been handed the keys, let's just see what a little body work and under-the-hood repairs will accomplish. You don't need two weeks, let alone a year, to figure that out.